Final action was taken by the Grass Valley City Council, Tuesday night, to place its fire tax on the March Primary ballot. But, with the vote only a few months away, City Councilmember Tim Ivy again expressed doubts about whether enough has been done by the city to put the proposal in the best position for passage…

click to listen to Tom Ivy

And with only light to moderate public input, the outcome does appear to be uncertain. But one resident, Brenda English, indicated to the Council that she would be voting “no”…

click to listen to Brenda English

It’s a general three-eighths-of-a-percent sales tax increase, which would only need majority approval. It would raise about two-and-a-half million dollars a year, with a seven-year sunset clause, and a committee formed to monitor spending, similar to Measure E. It could also be used to help with wildfire prevention efforts in 2024, which was a factor in proposing the measure for March instead of November of next year. Meanwhile, Nevada City’s proposal is a special one-half-percent increase that requires two-thirds approval. If both measures pass, each town would still charge the same sales tax.